The Katywompus Journal Observing Life's Little Quirks by Diane Moody |
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Entry #20: Step Away from the Mistletoe!
You were probably expecting another warm and cozy column about the holidays this week, but something happened the other day that snapped me out of my Christmas revelry with a major dose of reality. I stopped by TJ Maxx hoping to find a specific item on my Christmas list. The store was crowded, typical for this time of year. All of a sudden, I heard the most disgusting sound. The phlegmy, wet, deep-in-the-chest hacking cough of someone who was not just sick, but SICK. That rattling cough continued until I was sure we'd all be whipping out our cell phones to call 911. I never saw who she was. Instead, I began inching further and further away from this germfest as she wandered up and down the aisles. Whereas I would normally feel sorry for someone so sick, her inexplicable willingness to openly share her plague wiped away any sympathy I might have had. My only response was "what kind of ignorant soul goes shopping when they're that sick?!" My thoughts didn't stop there. I began to dwell on the selfishness of her presence. It didn't matter to me if she was a shopper or an employee. She had no business there in our midst, saturating the air with what I quickly diagnosed as certain influenza, probably Type A/H3N2 flu virus, with a 75% probability that it was the Fujian strain currently sweeping our country like wildfire. (Thank you, Dr. Brokaw.) C'mon people. We're on the literal brink of a major flu epidemic. So why aren't we getting the message? We've seen the long lines at health clinics. We've heard the reports of rapidly dwindling supplies of vaccine. On television, we've watched the heartbreaking stories of the growing numbers of deaths attributed to this flu. Young parents grieving over the death of tiny babies - healthy one day, then gone in a matter of hours. High school and college students in their prime, now dead. Senior adults, too frail to fight the deadly infection. Beyond vaccination, what does the Center for Disease Control recommend? "Be sure that we stay home when we're sick because this will help reduce transmission of any respiratory illness that we might have to others." Hear that, Ms. TJ Maxx Shopper? I have often marveled at the rampant selfishness of people when it comes to infectious illness. Like the parents who send their sick kids to school because they don't want to blow perfect school attendance records. Thoughtful, isn't it? Or the ones who can't miss another day at work to stay home with a sick child, so they drag little Billy or Susie to daycare where they naturally infect the entire kiddy population and faculty. Considerate, isn't it? Or how about the fellow co-worker who sneezes and coughs his way into the office because he's "too dedicated" to miss a day. Don't you love that? He sneezes a boatload of the gooey stuff into his hands, but (busy guy that he is) doesn't have time to go wash those hands. Instead, he spreads the joy every time he touches the office copier, hands his co-worker a document, reaches for the coffee pot, presses the elevator button or shakes his boss's hand. Oh yeah. Major germ transferal. I have a better word for it: INEXCUSABLE. What else does the CDC suggest? "All of us should practice good respiratory etiquette, which means to cover our mouth or nose when we sneeze or cough and to practice good hand hygiene, which means to clean hands before and after having contact with respiratory secretions so that there's less chance of passing any of the influenza or influenza-like viruses from person to person." I watched this whole scenario play out a few years ago. My husband and I hosted a tour to the Holy Land with a group from our church. On the long flight over we noticed that a new lady in our group had a nasty, horrible cough. She was obviously very sick, but made no effort to cover her mouth or protect the rest of us from her violent coughs and juicy sneezes. After our arrival in Jerusalem, we would hear her throwing up in bathroom at the back of the tour bus. Not once did she stay back at the hotel and miss a day of touring. (You see where this is going.) Close to half of that group missed most of the tour thanks to her inconsiderate attitude. They had spent thousands of dollars to come half way around the world only to spend the week in a hotel room with a miserable case of the flu. All because one person thought only of herself. Christmas is the season of sharing, but the flu is a gift that keeps on giving. So if you get sick, do us all a big favor: STAY HOME. And for Pete's sake, step away from that mistletoe! Click HERE to send Diane an email. She welcomes your comments and suggestions. She's Flying the Coop Blessed are the poor... Back to School It All Started With Eve It's Almost Here! 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